Red and White
by Galadriadhar
Summary: It was a simple thing. A hat. A red and white hat changed Darkrai's perspective, for the better.


RED AND WHITE

Solaceon Town was quite the sight to see. Snow blanketed the town and the surrounding area, making it look a lot like Snowpoint City. Children ran, threw snowballs, made snowchus, flopped down into the snow and got back up again, and generally had fun. An air of joviality pervaded the town, except for one rooftop.

Darkrai had been sitting on top of this roof for a long while. He had been enjoying the quiet when the children had left their homes and started playing. When the noise had gotten nearly unbearable, Darkrai had promised himself that he would leave. But he didn't. Perhaps it was the fact that this was far more tolerable than the annual Meeting he was supposed to be at would be. Maybe he felt at peace here. Darkrai blamed that on the name of the town.

Parents opened doors and started calling to their children. The children speedily returned to their houses. Intrigued, Darkrai left the roof and floated to the ground. He began to wander through the town, looking in the windows. In each house the scene was nearly the same. The family sat around a large evergreen tree, opening packages covered in colorful wrappings with 'To and From' tags on them. Each package had something different: a Shinx doll, a new Pokétch, a set of dishes, just to name a few. One package was dotted with holes, and the reason became apparent to Darkrai when he saw a squealing child pull out a live Sentret.

_What is this_? Darkrai wondered. At the next house, he looked in to see a small evergreen tree, so small that it was more of a sapling. Under the sapling were three gifts. The parents watched a small girl open each one carefully. Their faces were a picture of joy. By the look of the clothes each human wore, Darkrai guessed this family must be poor.

Then the child looked at the window. Her eyes widened, and Darkrai knew that she had seen him. She jumped to her feet, carrying what looked to be a hat, and ran outside. The girl looked up at Darkrai inquisitively. "You get presents?" she asked.

Darkrai stared at her incredulously. _What are 'presents?'_ He shook his head. She smiled widely and gave him the hat she was carrying. "That a hat! You wear it!"

He turned the hat over in his hands, then tentatively placed it on his. The little girl beamed. "Thank… you…" Darkrai said hesitantly.

The girl nodded, then went back into her house, closing the door behind her. Darkrai glanced in the window and saw the girl animatedly telling her parents something. It was probably about him. He disappeared before the parents could see him.

Back at his island, Darkrai took the hat off and examined it more closely. It was made of Mareep wool, probably imported from Johto. The colors were red and white, resembling a Delibird. Darkrai placed the hat back on his head. It was actually quite warm. He closed his eyes, fully intending to sleep, when the hat was blown off of his head. Darkrai grabbed at it, and caught it just in time.

He went to put it on his head, then stopped. _That's it!_ He thought. _They're giving each other gifts! It's like the Time of Thanks, but instead it's a Time of Giving!_

Then another thought occurred to him. Darkrai flew off to implement his idea.

The small girl went to answer the knock at the door. She opened it, but no one was there. Her parents came to see who it was, but they were just as confused. They leaned out and looked around, but no one could be seen. The only thing out of place was a large package on the step. It was dotted with air holes. The girl opened the package and shrieked. It was a happy shriek, though. She pulled a Meowth out of the package and hugged it. The Meowth gave a small cry of contentment, then snuggled up to the girl. The parents were in wonder.

The father picked up the package. There was a tag that had 'From: D' written on it. On the back of the tag the father found a post-script: 'PS: This Meowth knows Pay Day.'

The parents marveled at their good fortune. They ushered the girl inside, then whispered a "Thank you" to the air.

Cresselia came back from the Meeting, grumpy and annoyed. The Meeting had gone horribly, as it always did, and on top of that, Darkrai hadn't shown up. She felt like yelling.

She reached her island and found a package in front of her cave. Cresselia opened it with a psychic command, finding a red and white Mareep wool hat inside. She levitated it to her head, then lowered it. The hat fit very well.

Cresselia noticed a tag on the package. She read it. It said, 'To Cresselia, From D.'

The swan Pokemon let a small grin escape. "Thanks, 'D.'"


End file.
